*Essence magazine’s parent company, Sundial Media Group, caused internal division among staff following its acquisition of women’s lifestyle company Refinery29 from Vice Media.
Per Axios, “The acquisition of Refinery29 will help Sundial and Essence extend their reach to content companies that cut across culture and commerce, Sundial said in a statement,” the outlet writes.
Page Six reports that Essence continues to grapple with redefining itself under Caroline Wanga’s new leadership. Some staffers describe Wanga as a “narcissist” fostering a “culture of fear” but her defenders says she is mentoring a “new generation.” Multiple insiders claim there is a persistent “toxic workplace culture,” leaving many Black women feeling “sick, traumatized, and victimized.”
The workplace grievances at Essence emerge four years following an anonymous essay calling for change, leading to the resignation of several top executives, including former CEO Richelieu Dennis. According to Page Six, Dennis acquired the company from defunct Time Inc. in 2018. He appointed Wanga, a former Target DEI executive, as the new president and CEO. However, multiple sources revealed that Dennis “is still heavily involved in day-to-day operations.”
Meanwhile, several newly hired female executives have departed due to Wanga’s management style.
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“There’s no women in leadership outside of Caroline. She’s very jealous when it comes to women,” an insider claimed, referring to the C-Suite make up, per Page Six.
“She’ll go around give these interviews and ridiculous advice as this corporate mentor guru rooting for Black women and it’s the biggest crock,” another source said. “She’s made several black women’s lives hell [at the magazine].”
A supporter of Wanga, 28-year-old journalist Nandi Howard, asserts that the boss has been a strong advocate for her and other young staff members.
“When I was fashion editor, I was working with a lot of women, who no longer work at the company, who didn’t champion me,” Howard said. “They weren’t fostering a new, fresh, open-thinking generation… [Wanga] is one of the first bosses who fosters me.”
Howard added, “Rich and Caroline champion the next generation.”
“I left and came back to Essence in 2022 as content director, and was promoted to VP of content. I wouldn’t have come back to a toxic organization,” she said.
Longtime Essence employee and VP of branded content and video, Stephanie NoNe Dunivan, added, “I’m one of the few who have been here since we were formerly owned by Time Inc. I’ve seen every regime… I would not describe Essence as a toxic work culture. I hate that this narrative is being told.”
She continued, “My whole entire team is black girl magic.”
Dunivan noted that she has been “nurtured” by Caroline “for the past four years. Narcissist doesn’t describe this woman,” she shared.
Some of Wanga’s critics claim she “throws tantrums and yells at the executive team when she is not prominently featured or centered in editorial pages and social media,” an insider shared. She has even threatened to fire staffers.
“Employees do not have psychological safety to report HR issues without fear of retaliation,” the insider revealed.
Per Page Six, a spokesperson for Essence said, “For the past four years, team members have had access to 24-hour a day external and independent HR team that gives them the ability for anonymous reporting, and we continue to create opportunities for our community to grow.”
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